Writah's Block!
by Gracie Jane
Summary: Gracie Jane gets writer's block and the newsies decide to try and help her beat it. One-shot.


Hey everyone! No, this isn't a chapter of my other story, but I thought that you might like to see it anyway. I've been having writer's block and the newsies came to help me.  
  
Disclaimer: Newsies and all the characters and etc. contained therein belongs to Disney. Annie was a historical figure, but I guess that this interpretation of her could be considered mine since I basically had nothing to work with but a name. Gracie Jane, naturally, belongs to me, as do my stories, which I mention.  
  
Gracie Jane sat staring at her computer monitor. It was the beginning of summer and she was finally free of high school. Her hands were poised over the keyboard, waiting for inspiration to continue her fanfiction. Waiting and waiting and waiting.  
"Why ain't ya writin'?"  
Gracie shrieked and whirled towards the sound.  
"Sorry, didn't mean ta scare ya. I was just wonderin'," Kid Blink said apologetically. "You haven't updated in-"  
"Ever," Les said darkly, sitting on the floor.  
"What are you guys doing here?" Gracie asked, trying to recover from the shock of Kid Blink's voice. "I didn't write you just now."  
"That's our point. We don't mean to be pushy," David said, pulling up a spare chair, "but we think it's time that you update your story about us."  
"ASAP," Annie said vehemently. (A/N: Annie is Newspaper Annie, a historical girl newsie. She appears in my stories **Just A Bunch Of Angry Kids With No Sequel **and **Still A Bunch Of Angry Kids With No Sequel**. She's one cool chica.)  
"Look guys, I want to update," Gracie Jane said to the room full of newsies. "Really, I do. Only when I sit down to actually do it, I – "  
"What?" Jack prompted.  
"I don't know what to write," she admitted. "But it's not for lack of trying! I've got the whole story outlined."  
"Yeah," Skittery said, leafing through her papers. "So why ain't ya doin' it?"  
The girl shrugged helplessly.  
"I think I know what da problem is," Racetrack said, rolling up his sleeves. "Gracie, look me in da face." She did so, a bit trepidatiously. He put a hand on her forehead. "No fevah. Stick out your tongue."  
"Ahhh," Gracie went. Racetrack peered into her mouth for a minute.  
"Mmm-hmm, mm-hmm. Just what I thought."  
"What is it?" Dutchy asked nervously.  
"She's got – Writah's Block!" Cue the scary music  
The newsies gasped. Many of them drew away in fear.  
"It ain't contagious, is it?" Mush wanted to know.  
"Naw, it don't catch."  
"Where's it come from?" Specs asked.  
Racetrack shrugged. "No one knows. Gracie, put your tongue back intah your mouth! Jeez."  
"So what do we do?" Jack asked. "Our fanfic writer ain't writin' no more! Man, what if we _nevah_ get dat sequel?"  
"Don't think like that," David said. "We have to stay positive! Maybe there's some way for us to inspire her. Gracie, what can we do?"  
"We could dance!" Mush said enthusiastically. He, Pie Eater, and Snoddy broke into some complicated choreography.  
"I could spin on your fan!" Bumlets offered, making a jump for the one in the room.  
"You guys are great dancers," Gracie said a minute later, standing up. "And Bumlets, you're the best fan-spinner that I know. But I still don't know what to write."  
Somewhat disheartened by this, the newsies pulled away and started whispering to each other. Every now and then one would break their huddle to stare at the fanfic author, and Gracie Jane was beginning to feel very uneasy. Abruptly the whispers stopped and Spot Conlon pushed Jack forward.  
Jack blushed uncomfortably and stared at the floor. "I...uh...it's Annie's idea, it ain't mine!" he said, then grabbed Gracie and planted a big kiss on her. Pulling away, he waited for a reaction. "Well, anythin'?" he demanded when a minute or two of silence had passed.  
"You're a very good kisser, Jack," Gracie said, smiling stupidly.  
"Well, I try," he said with a grin. "So can ya write now?"  
"Don't take this personally, because I promise that it's not a reflection on your kissing ability, but I'm still stuck."  
"That's enough Mr. Nice Newsie," Spot said, taking matters into his own hands by taking Gracie Jane's shoulders and physically moving her back to the computer chair. "I don't' care what ya write, I don't care if it's lousy as heck, but you gotta write somethin'. It's da only cure."  
"But I – "  
"No buts!" he shouted.  
"Fine," Gracie sulked, putting her fingers on the keys once again. "But it's not gonna be good."  
"Don't ya start wid me today," Spot warned, narrowing his eyes.  
"Aren't we the bossy one?" Gracie shot back, then typed out a sentence. The newsies leaned forward to read it.  
**_Spot Conlon was known throughout Brooklyn for his good looks, fierce posse, and meanness to fanfiction authors._**  
"I like it," Crutchy said appraisingly.  
"What's a posse?" Snipeshooter asked.  
Spot was indignant. "Gracie, if you wasn't a goil I'd soak ya!"

"Now Spot," David said, "violence never updated anything. At least she managed to get out a sentence – that's better than before we came."  
"Not by much."  
"Wait a minute," Gracie said to herself, staring blankly. "That gives me an idea. Well, sort of."  
"What is it?" Mush asked. "For the next chaptah?"  
"Yeah." She deleted the sentence about Spot and started over, her fingers picking up speed until they were practically flying across the keyboard.  
"I think she's on ta somethin'!" Annie said, watching a stream of words appear on the monitor.  
"Put me in, will ya Gracie?" Boots asked. "Only not wid bees again. I remembah last time."  
"And I wanna see my goilfriend!" Snipeshooter said. "Put her in too!"  
"Hey, give her some room!" Les said. "Let her think!"  
"Thanks, Les," Gracie said with a smile, then settled down to write the next chapter of her fanfic. Three hours later she posted it with pride.  
"See? Was that so hard?" Spot asked.  
"Hey, getting over writer's block is agony," Gracie said truthfully. "I'm glad you guys came to help me. And David, thanks for being my beta reader."  
"Don't mention it," he said charitably.  
Gracie got to update her story and the newsies got one step closer to their sequel. All in all, it was a successful intervention.   
  
Writer's block – we've all been there. (If there's an author out there who hasn't, she's either very new at this and hasn't had it _yet_ or she's one lucky girl!) Sometimes you've gotta write just for the sake of writing, even if it's not your best work. Do any of you know some good tips for getting over writer's block? I'd love to hear them! You can E- mail them to me, it will be cool to hear how y'all handle this common problem.  
  
I wish I had the next chapter of my fanfic up. I've started it, but am still having problems. I wrote this in the hopes of breaking the ice. So I don't have any inspiration? I've used my lack of inspiration as inspiration!   
  
Please review, everyone! Reviews are like the beginning of summer vacation! But no flames, flames are like when you get homework on the first day of school!


End file.
